Presentation at the Oakwood College Department
of English and Communications Departmental Workshop

Someone suggested to me that for my presentation
I should expand on the devotion I did for a departmental meeting
last semester. I quickly embraced the suggestion for two reasons.
(1) I didnt have to search for another topic and (2) the
devotional theme reflects one of the goals identified in the
institutional self study. Those of you who were present at the
departmental meeting might recall that I spoke about some of
the qualities I admired in the Master Teacher and wished I could
emulate in my own teaching. I talked about His patience, His
compassion, His availability and approachability, His magnetism,
and above all His love for His students. I shall add to these
this morning and hope I can encourage you to seek with me to
learn from the Great Teacher.

Let us begin with His non-exclusive or rather
His all-inclusive policy. As both Creator and Teacher, Jesus
loved diversity. I will have to tread softly here as I share
clearly what is just my opinion, but perhaps you will agree
with me. When Jesus created man, could He not have made humankind
either male or female? Why did He choose to create them male
and female with different anatomies? Some today (and through
the ages) would better His creation and would rather have it
all male or all female. Do you think it was only for procreation
that He made humankind and the animals, male and female? Why
is it that even among the animals and the trees and the flowers,
there is such diversity? Have you ever considered what the world
would have been like if it were a world of all males ( or even
females, though it probably would have been a little better
or at least prettier if it were all female)?

Didnt Jesus show His love for diversity
and variety when He chose the twelve? Some of the twelve I presume
were well educated, some not so well educated, some were young,
some were old, some were outspoken, some retiring, some even
of the doubting type, some fiery like the sons of thunder, and
not all of the same vocation or social status. But He taught
them all; He fed them the same spiritual food.

As teachers, are we as comfortable with diversity
as Jesus was? I am not talking mainly of diversity in educational
training and background. I am not asking if we are comfortable
in a multi-grade classroom. I am asking if we are comfortable
with the economic, social, ethnic, racial, geographical, political
mix in our classrooms and on the faculty and staff. Perhaps
as an international faculty I cannot help seeing the decline
in our efforts to attract foreign students. Dont try to
read more into this statement than is my intent. This is not
intended as an indictment of anyone. I just want us to be more
aware of the enormous benefits and advantages of diversity,
to be comfortable in the classroom with a diverse group of students,
to be comfortable in the cafeteria, in the library, in the dormitories,
to be comfortable everywhere on campus as I believe Jesus would
have been. It is not so on all campuses, but it certainly can
be so at Oakwood, and as teachers we must lead the way. Remember
how intolerant the American society seemed toward certain groups
under some presidents and how much more tolerant under others?
The same will be true of our campus.

I am sure that some of you did not miss the fact
that in describing the diversity of Jesus Twelve, I could
not state that there were women in the group. Doesnt this
put a limit on Jesus' love of diversity? If He loves diversity
so much, why did He not include at least one woman among the
Twelve? This brings me to the second quality that I would like
to have as a teacher. Jesus was very tactful. Tact is born of
wisdom, and we are all admonished to be wise as serpents but
harmless as doves. Jesus worked within the framework of His
society. The record is quite clear that many women became His
disciples. But He did not call one of them to be an apostle.
To do so would have jeopardized His ministry and His mission.
You remember when one of the women got close to Him in public,
how the rumor started that if He were indeed the divine teacher
He would have known what kind of woman was messing with Him
(pardon the slang). Can you imagine if He had one or two women
following Him around as closely as the apostles what rumors
would have been rampant around town? It would have been very
bad for His reputation as well as for the reputation of the
apostles. Jesus was too tactful to make that mistake. Am I as
tactful in my dealings with my students or even with other members
of the faculty? Some people excuse their lack of tact by insisting
that one should be forthright in dealing with others and should
declare bluntly what is on one's mind. Let us remember that
"tactful" is not a synonym for "deceitful."
Some people who are afraid to speak the truth or wish to deceive
tell themselves that they are being tactful. There is a world
of difference between tactfulness and deceitfulness. Tactfulness
is dealing with the situation with wisdom in an effort to avoid
leaving unnecessary scars. Tactfulness also is not timidity.
There comes a time when the teacher has to be outspoken. The
same Teacher who commended Peter for one answer also said to
him in the hearing of others, "Get thee behind me, Satan!"
I long for the wisdom of the Master Teacher so that I may know
when to commend and when to rebuke, when to pull the student
aside and speak softly, or when to say before the whole class,
"Youd better get your act together, or youll
have to leave my class." May God grant us all that wisdom
and tact.

The third quality I would like to stress is fairness.
Very often we are told the world isnt fair; therefore
we should not expect fairness. Of course, the world isnt
fair. How can it be when it is still Satans domain! And
how ironic it is that Satan is in charge after he was cast out
into this world for accusing Jesus of being unfair. Jesus was
fair. We can see that in every aspect of His life on earth.
His choice of the apostles was a fair choice. He did not go
about choosing apostles on the basis of status, education, or
connection. We just observed the diversity of His choice. Not
only was His choice a fair choice, but each apostle received
a fair chance. Peter didnt have a better chance than Judas.
Jesus had to work as hard with Peter as with Judas. But Peter
responded and Judas did not. This fact should remind us that
our responsibility is to treat each student with the degree
of diligence necessary for the students success, but we
are not to be surprised or ready to commit suicide when we cannot
reach that student in spite of our efforts. Do not let us become
psychotic by believing that every failure is our failure. Some
educators would have us believe this. Of course, Jesus was saddened
when He lost Judas, but He did not abort His Mission because
Judas failed.

Back to fairness. I am terribly disturbed when
I see employers, administrators, and teachers making decisions
and concessions based on face, favor, friendship, and fellowship.
Too often two or more people under similar circumstances with
similar qualifications may make the same requests, and one is
approved and the others are not, and the only determining factor
seems to be the connection the grantee may have with the grantor.
Too often bonuses, promotions, allowances of one kind or another,
exemptions, and so on, are based not on merit but on membership;
that is, membership in the "club." As teachers, we
must make every effort to see that we do not treat one student
better than another because of family connections, financial,
social or physical advantages, or any other such reason. We
must be prepared, if we offer one student an opportunity to
make up work, to give the same opportunity to other students
who may make the same request under similar circumstances. This
is one of the reasons why I rarely, if ever, allow students
to do what they call "extra work" to improve their
grades. My argument is that, except under extraordinary circumstances,
if I grant the opportunity to one, I must be prepared to grant
it to all.

Often I have heard students say "thats
not fair," when what they mean is "thats not
what I expected," or "thats a lot of work you
are asking me to do," or "if I have to turn in the
assignment tomorrow, I wont be able to get an early start
home for the weekend." Do not let students disturb you
with their twisted definition of fair. When I talk about "fair"
or "fairness," I am talking about being free from
favoritism or bias. I am talking about being consistent and
impartial. As teachers we need to be consistent. Employers and
administrators, politicians and judges need to be consistent.
Isnt it comforting to know that as we approach Jesus we
can count on the fact that He will be consistent? Dont
you think our students will be rather comfortable if they can
count on the fact that we will be consistent in our dealings
with them? And something else. Do you know when we are consistent,
we will save ourselves from a lot of unnecessary problems later
on?

So we want to be fair like Jesus, the Master Teacher.
But was Jesus really free of favoritism. Didnt He show
special favor to Peter, James, and John? Didnt He take
just these three with Him to the Mount of Transfiguration, to
Jairus house, and to Gethsemane? Didnt John get
the seat close to Him? Let us not confuse the attitude of the
student with the actions of the teacher. Peter, James, and John
had a special relationship with Jesus because they sought that
relationship. They wanted to be close to Jesus, and the Master
did not drive them away because He thought others might accuse
Him of favoritism. And lest you should think that He did show
favoritism towards them, remember that He did not hesitate to
rebuke them when they should be rebuked.

Remember also that He did not reward their relationship
with Him by sending them on a tour (all expenses paid). He didnt
bequeath to them His special robe; He didnt give them
expensive gifts. Note what His reward was: He bestowed upon
them greater responsibility (with corresponding hardship) to
lead His church and consequently to drink of the cup He drank
of, for tradition tells us that Peter was crucified, James was
beheaded, and John was exiled. Was this favoritism? How many
students you know would like to be thus favored?

I am not denying that Jesus had an inner circle,
but that inner circle meant added responsibility, not unmerited
favors and season tickets and paid for club membership. Employers
and administrators will also have their inner circle, their
cabinet, upon whom they will rely for counsel and inspiration;
they will not just look forward to being stroked. An inner circle
is a natural thing. We feel closer to those with similar language,
culture, heritage, and interests. It is natural that some students
will get closer to us than others. How will we handle it and
not show favoritism in the negative way that word is normally
used? We must learn from the Master Teacher.

Lastly, the Master Teacher teaches me that "more
things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of."
Jesus spent a great deal of time in prayer. He prayed before
every big lecture and I am sure every small one, too. He prayed
before every demonstration or presentation. He prayed at every
critical moment, and He prayed not only for Himself but for
His students also. And so I have learned to pray when I enter
my office in the mornings. I pray for myself and my students,
I pray before I make a test and while I am making the test,
I pray when I am grading the test, and I pray for sure before
I give final grades at the end of each semester. And yet I know
I dont pray enough. I have not yet learned to pray like
the Master.

But when all is said and done, perhaps maybe the
greatest lesson we can learn from the Master Teacher is that
there is yet a more excellent way, and that is that we should
try hard to love our students and to love teaching. And to end
on the highest possible note: we know of a surety that God just
loves teachers.